By the time this is published Trump will have been sworn in as the 45th President of the United States of America. Perhaps there is already Nuclear War, perhaps he has surprised us and solved child poverty. Regardless, awestruck leftists need to wake up and smell the fake tanner. It’s time to prepare ourselves for what Trump will do once he is actually running the country. Trump put a lot on the table during the election, everything from building a wall to locking up Hillary Clinton. However, no one is quite sure what legitimate policy options he will actually pursue and what he was just rhetoric to get blood boiling and votes rolling.
Here are some of the ideas he has spit-balled since the election, and we should look out for early in a Trump Presidency. Trump and Pence have both claimed that on his first day of office they will repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, without any plans for a replacement program in place. Speaking of repealing 8 years of hard work under Obama, Trump has vowed to repeal every order that has been enacted under Obama. This has since been reined in to about 25 executive orders according to his campaign team.
We can also expect Trump to handle the logistics of being President in an unprecedented way as seen through his actions thus far. He failed to hold a press conference until 2 months after winning the election. This demonstrated his mistrust in the press furthered by calling many news outlets “garbage” and we can look forward to hearing more from him on Twitter, which he claims is the only way he can resist the press. Another promise for his first day is deporting 3 million illegal immigrants with criminal records and starting his wall between Mexico and the United States, which may turn out to be more fence than wall. He has also begun shrinking government to save us from corruption. He plans to put a freeze on all federal employees and enact a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on congress people. I wonder if Trump knows that he can’t unilaterally make constitutional amendments or even policy decisions for that matter.
Foreign policy is a particularly noteworthy area of this transition. As the strongest world player, Trump’s stay home attitude is particularly alarming for countries around the world. He has voiced everything from plans to build safe zones for civilians in Syria to the possibility of lifting sanctions on Russia. He didn’t ensure NATO that he would have their backs and he threatened to leave NAFTA. This has alarm bells ringing all over the world. Here at home, Trudeau is flashing that charming smile and probably shitting the bed as he praises America for being one of Canada’s closest friends. True friends don’t leave true friends alone in a trade agreement though. As Canada’s largest trading partner and responsible for the livelihood of many Canadians, a NAFTA without Trump is sure to cause some tension on the playground.
The vibe from South America is one of pity. Renowned Columbian cartoonist Vladimir Florez called Trump’s victory “a nightmarish mutation of the American dream.” Mexico’s foreign minister Claudia Massieu made it clear that Mexico refuses to pay for the wall and is probably on the phone with Trudeau sharing tears over NAFTA’s deterioration.
Formally, the EU congratulated Trump and passively reminded him of his responsibility to the rest of the world as a world super power. Individually, leaders of European countries are expressing their disappointment, discontent, and fear of a Trump presidency. Donald Tusk, Poland’s Prime Minister called Trump’s victory, along with Brexit “warning sign for all those who believe in liberal democracy.” Guy Verhofstadt, a leader of European parliament, sees this as an opportunity for Europe to stop leaning on the United States and “take charge of their own destiny.”
Countries of the Middle East also seem to have mixed feelings about a Trump presidency and rightly so, after all the hate he has spewed for Islam, widely practiced in the Middle East, and claims that he will pull out of all military operations there, not to mention demanding that they should “give us free oil for 10 years.” So far most countries in this region are keeping quiet and trying to stay on his good side. Asia has taken a business as usual response to the Trump presidency. The overwhelming message was not about how nations felt towards the President or the results but that they looked forward to maintaining and building strong relationships with him in the future.
Perhaps this is a message that more citizens of our global world should take to heart. Regardless of political ideology or personal preferences and values, Donald Trump is the 45th President of the United States and nations across the world will have no choice but to strap in, hold tight, and go along for the ride or push back until they can get the hell off.
